At Vertos, we empower healthcare providers and patients with minimally invasive treatments for LSS. After witnessing the impact that LSS has on millions of patients’ quality-of-life annually, it became not just our goal, but our passion to expand care options.
Helping patients get back to what matters most to them is what matters most to us. From playing with their grandkids or golfing with friends to getting a better night’s sleep and doing it all over again, we want to help patients find joy every day by increasing their mobility and reducing their pain - in the least invasive way.
Our Journey
The story behind the mild® Procedure
In 2005, the mild® Procedure was created to fill a treatment gap for patients who developed spinal stenosis but were not willing or able to tolerate spine surgery.
Since then, patient access has expanded greatly and mild® serves as a standard of care for interventionalists nationwide. Thousands of patients are treated every year and the procedure is supported by FDA clearance, national Medicare coverage, leading medical institutions and national medical societies. Thirteen clinical trials, including Level 1 data, and over 20 peer-reviewed articles demonstrate that the mild® Procedure is just that - mild.
Our Values
At Vertos, we are passionate about offering safe, effective solutions to the LSS community
Empathy
We see the suffering that LSS patients endure and we want to make a lasting impact in their lives.
Integrity
We believe in the mild® Procedure, recommending it to friends, family and anyone who may benefit from it.
Innovation
We are in continuous pursuit to advance and provide optimal LSS care.
Collaboration
We partner with the nation’s leading institutions and healthcare providers to ensure LSS patients have access to mild® as a treatment option.
Who We Are
Offering decades of experience and expertise in the healthcare field, our team continues to advance minimally invasive technologies to help the millions of patients suffering from LSS return to a better quality-of-life.
Our Leadership Team
Eric Wichems
President and Chief Executive Officer
Eric Wichems
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Wichems joined Vertos Medical in September 2011 and served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing prior to becoming president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors. Previously, Mr. Wichems served as director of marketing for medical devices in the plastic surgery market for Allergan Medical. He has almost two decades of healthcare industry experience in marketing, sales, strategic planning, and operations at Vertos, Allergan and Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Wichems earned a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, a master degree in engineering from North Carolina State University, and a MBA from Duke University.
Rebecca Colbert
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Rebecca Colbert
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Ms. Colbert brings both financial and commercial experience to her role at Vertos Medical. Previously, she held the position of vice president, customer and sales operations for the surgical division of Bausch & Lomb. Ms. Colbert also served in several roles including vice president, finance & sales operations for eyeonics Inc., an ophthalmic device company whose rapid growth and impending IPO prompted Bausch & Lomb to acquire the company in February 2008.
Ms. Colbert is a certified public accountant who began her career in public accounting with Deloitte. She earned a bachelor degree in business administration from the University of Texas and master of accounting from the University of Southern California.
Amy Scott
Vice President of Marketing and Physician Education
Amy Scott
Vice President of Marketing and Physician Education
Ms. Scott is a seasoned marketing and sales professional in the medical device industry. She has commercialized and managed medical products in a variety of global markets, with her expertise spanning both professional and consumer marketing. Ms. Scott has over 25 years of experience. Her past roles have included strategic marketing, product development, branding and promotions, market and product management, sales management, and physician education. Previously, she held senior management positions with ReShape Lifesciences, Pacific Communications (Allergan), DJO Global, WaveTec Vision Systems, Edwards Lifesciences, and Baxter Healthcare. Ms. Scott earned a bachelor of science degree in business from Indiana University and a master of business administration from Pepperdine University.
Stephen E. Paul
Vice President of Sales
Stephen E. Paul
Vice President of Sales
Mr. Paul joined Vertos Medical with over 20 years of experience building and managing high performance commercial teams in medical device and consumer industries. He is a seasoned sales and commercial operations executive who has played key roles in global P&L management, mergers and acquisitions, and business development. Prior to joining Vertos Medical, Mr. Paul served as the Vice President of Global Sales and Commercial Operations for Breg, an Orthopedic/Sports Medicine company, where his leadership and development skills assisted in more than doubling the company’s business. As the Executive Vice President of US Acute Care Sales for Masimo Corporation, he led all US hospital sales and was responsible for GPO, IDN, corporate sales, and military and government sales teams. Mr. Paul also spent more than a decade with Boston Scientific, primarily as the Western Area Sales Director for the Oncology Division.
Mr. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and frequently pursues professional development opportunities. He is an accomplished speaker and motivator who is passionate about leading his teams to success.
Karen Davis
Vice President of Clinical Research
Karen Davis
Vice President of Clinical Research
Ms. Davis has been in the medical device industry for over 20 years, including 13 years in interventional neurovascular with ev3 Neurovascular and Micro Therapeutics Inc. Her experience has included positions in marketing, business development, and clinical research. Ms. Davis was senior director of clinical research at ev3 Neurovascular, where her responsibilities included implementation and management of all clinical studies worldwide. Ms. Davis also served as director of business development for Intersect Partners, a medical device incubator. Ms. Davis began her career on Wall Street with Merrill Lynch and Needham & Company, where she was vice president of corporate finance and head of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group. Ms. Davis holds a BA in mathematics from Colorado College and an MBA from Stanford University.
David P. Lalor Jr.
Vice President of Operations/Research and Development
David P. Lalor Jr.
Vice President of Operations/Research and Development
Mr. Lalor brings to Vertos Medical over 25 years of medical device leadership experience in manufacturing, quality control and product development. Prior to joining Vertos Medical, Mr. Lalor held various operational and technical management positions at C. Brewer Co., ev3, Terumo, 3M Health Care, and Cardiovascular Devices Inc. (prior to its successful acquisition by 3M Health Care).
Mr. Lalor has been a key leader in successful product launches, scaling up manufacturing capacity, and improving product quality. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from California State University, Long Beach.
Philip Macdonald
Vice President of Market Access and Reimbursement
Philip Macdonald
Vice President of Market Access and Reimbursement
Mr. Macdonald joined Vertos Medical with over 20 years of experience across various disciplines of healthcare economics, reimbursement, product and provider service line development, payers and health policy; and his experience includes prior work with medical device manufacturers Given Imaging (Medtronic), Siemens, St. Jude Medical, and Bayer. He was Vice President, Healthcare Economics, Policy & Reimbursement at EndoGastric Solutions (EGS) before joining Vertos Medical. He has also worked in the provider sector for HCA corporate in Strategic Development.
Mr. Macdonald brings to Vertos Medical experience dealing with product commercialization with early and late state startups, CPT development, Medicare payment setting, medical societies and trade association advocacy work, and success in gaining coverage by public and commercial insurers.
Mr. Macdonald earned a doctorate in Healthcare Management & Economics from the University of La Verne (La Verne, CA), as well as a master's in Hospital Administration and a bachelor's in History and Political Science from the University of Memphis. He has numerous publications.
Explore Articles, Blogs, News Stories and Press Releases
Challenge Your Thinking Around ESIs—Change Your Practice
Author— Peter Pryzbylkowski, MD
Epidural steroid injections (ESIs) have historically served as the standard of care (and an easy, early intervention) for lumbar spinal stenosis patients. But now we have mild®—a proven, well-studied, and safe solution that has improved the function, pain, and quality of life for my LSS patients with neurogenic claudication. So, when do we move on from ESIs? How do we introduce mild® as the standard of care for our stenosis patients? How do we ensure our colleagues value the safety and outcomes and, in turn, send us patients who could benefit?
At Vertos, we care. We care about patients, we care about the healthcare community, we care about our employees and we care about making a difference by expanding minimally invasive treatment options for LSS. If this resonates with you, and you’re a motivated and experienced professional, you may be a great fit for our team. We are proud to be an and would love to hear from you.
Every person is a valuable part of the team. Every voice is heard and respected. Employees demonstrate perseverance, integrity and a can-do attitude.
Life-changing Impact
We help thousands of patients find lasting relief from LSS pain and regain mobility each year with the mild® Procedure.
Dynamic Environment
Our forward-thinking abilities and fast-paced practices encourage employee growth, teamwork and autonomy across the organization.
Our Employees
Find out what our team has to say about Vertos and the mild® Procedure
To hear stories from patients about how they can walk, golf and spend more time with family is just incredible. I stand behind the mild® Procedure and love talking to anyone I can about it.
Initially I chose to work at Vertos because it offered the ability to create a market that really didn’t exist and a smaller company atmosphere/culture that allowed my voice to be heard as an employee.
The company has an incredible reputation around its culture for both performance and accountability. Team members are valued and there is a true opportunity to make changes in people's lives and within the company itself.
I was impressed with the strong sense of team and integrity, company-wide, as well as the vision and disruptive product that gives patients a safe yet effective option to address their chronic pain.
Benyamin RM, Staats PS, MiDAS ENCORE Investigators. mild® is an effective treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication: MiDAS ENCORE Randomized Controlled Trial. Pain Physician. 2016;19(4):229-242.
Mekhail N, Costandi S, Abraham B, Samuel SW. Functional and patient-reported outcomes in symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis following percutaneous decompression. Pain Pract. 2012;12(6):417-425. doi:10.1111/j.1533-2500.2012.00565.x.
2012 data from Health Market Sciences report for Vertos Medical 2013.
Data on file with Vertos Medical.
Staats PS, Chafin TB, Golvac S, et al. Long-term safety and efficacy of minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedure for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication: 2-year results of MiDAS ENCORE. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2018;43:789-794. doi:10.1097/AAP.0000000000000868.
Based on mild® Procedure data collected in all clinical studies. Major complications are defined as dural tear and blood loss requiring transfusion.
MiDAS ENCORE responder data. On file with Vertos Medical.
Jain S, Deer TR, Sayed D, et al. Minimally invasive lumbar decompression: a review of indications, techniques, efficacy and safety. Pain Manag. 2020;10(5). https://doi.org/10.2217/pmt-2020-0037. Accessed June 1, 2020.
Deer TR, Grider JS, Pope JE, et al. The MIST Guidelines: the Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Consensus Group guidelines for minimally invasive spine treatment. Pain Pract. 2019;19(3)250-274. doi:10.1111/papr.12744.
Hansson T, Suzuki N, Hebelka H, Gaulitz A. The narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal during loaded MRI: the effects of the disc and ligamentum flavum. Eur Spine J. 2009;18(5):679-686. doi:10.1007/s00586-009-0919-7.
Treatment options shown are commonly offered once conservative therapies (e.g., physical therapy, pain medications, chiropractic) are not providing adequate relief. This is not intended to be a complete list of all treatments available. Doctors typically recommend treatments based on their safety profile, typically prioritizing low risk/less aggressive procedures before higher risk/more aggressive procedures, but will determine which treatments are appropriate for their patients.
Although the complication rate for the mild® Procedure is low, as with most surgical procedures, serious adverse events, some of which can be fatal, can occur, including heart attack, cardiac arrest (heart stops beating), stroke, and embolism (blood or fat that migrates to the lungs or heart). Other risks include infection and bleeding, spinal cord and nerve injury that can, in rare instances, cause paralysis. This procedure is not for everyone. Physicians should discuss potential risks with patients. For complete information regarding indications for use, warnings, precautions, and methods of use, please reference the devices’Instructions for Use.
Patient stories on this website reflect the results experienced by individuals who have undergone the mild® Procedure. Patients are not compensated for their testimonial. The mild® Procedure is intended to treat lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) caused by ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. Although patients may experience relief from the procedure, individual results may vary. Individuals may have symptoms persist or evolve or other conditions that require ongoing medication or additional treatments. Please consult with your doctor to determine if this procedure is right for you.
Reimbursement, especially coding, is dynamic and changes every year. Laws and regulations involving reimbursement are also complex and change frequently. Providers are responsible for determining medical necessity and reporting the codes that accurately describe the work that is done and the products and procedures that are furnished to patients. For this reason, Vertos Medical strongly recommends that you consult with your payers, your specialty society, or the AMA CPT regarding coding, coverage and payment.
Vertos Medical cannot guarantee coding, coverage, or payment for products or procedures. View our Billing Guide.
Vertos is an equal employment opportunity workplace committed to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce. We strive to grow our team with highly skilled people who share our culture and values. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, color, race, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, physical & mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law.
Hall S, Bartleson JD, Onofrio BM, Baker HL Jr, Okazaki H, O’Duffy JD. Lumbar spinal stenosis. Clinical features, diagnostic procedures, and results of surgical treatment in 68 patients. Ann Intern Med. 1985;103(2):271-275. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-103-2-271.
Kalichman L, Cole R, Kim DH, et al. Spinal stenosis prevalence & association with symptoms: The Framingham Study. Spine J. 2009;9(7):545-550. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2009.03.005.
Fukusaki M, Kobayashi I, Hara T, Sumikawa K. Symptoms of spinal stenosis do not improve after epidural steroid injection. Clin J Pain. 1998;14(2):148-151. doi:10.1097/00002508-199806000-00010.
